"Six Harmonies" start with the core in Classical Tai Chi

The Youtube Video link. On behalf of Edward Hunter regarding his comment on Youtube:

"In Wu Tai Chi the movement starts with the hand. Elbow 

follows hand. Shoulder follows elbow. Hip follows shoulder. 

Foot follows hip. That is the way of natural movement. Chen 

is wrong. Yang is wrong. Wu Tai Chi teached with hands 

following the feet is also wrong."

Sifu JR said, Hi E.H. You hit a bell with a rather large stone, so my response is appropriately significant, thank you:

Thank you for the comment. I see that you are a student/teacher in a "branch" of the Wu Tai Chi style; I am as well. I was also a student in another "branch" for many years. That branch "turned the hip" as opposed to "turning the waist"; they "started the movement with the hand" as opposed to "mobilizing the extremities from the waist." One "branch" within the Wu Style raises their arms very high above their heads; Classical Wu Tai Chi does not do this. I will not argue the point from the perspective that one is right while the other is wrong; I would have my work cut out for me in doing so.

However, you imply that if something is natural, e.g., "natural movement," then it is somehow good, thus suggesting that what is unnatural, e.g., "unnatural movement," is terrible. This characterization of "natural" presents many problems. I am sure that even if we agree some things are natural and some are not, what follows from this? Nothing. In other words, I do not see facts presented to support that what is "natural" movement is good (right) and what is, by implication, "unnatural" is bad (wrong).

Do you state that "movement starting with the hand" is valid to the extent that all other schools are wrong? You say some schools, even within the same style (Wu in this case), will start the "six harmonies" ( 1)hand follows 2) foot, 3) elbow follows 4) knee, 5) shoulder follows 6) hip by using the hand first. In this case, I see you are from the "Wu" school. I also see that you do not mention the use of the core, the "hands" connection to the core, the feet, the elbows, etc.

Stating about the "six harmonies" being "wrong" as presented herein Classical Wu Style is not sound. Simply stating the premise that "movement" is "wrong" because it is not "natural" does not make or present facts to make it "wrong."

There are, however, certain observable things that one can take note of: Here, in Classical Wu Tai Chi, the movement does not start with the hand; it begins with the waist. In using the hand to begin first, one uses an extremity of the body. Whether in Classical Tai Chi or any Tai Chi, it is initially reducing or draining off some of the power of the movement, as the action is not connected to the core.

Tennis players, baseball players, golfers, etc., use an external action first with the arms/hands, then it is connected to the core, presumably for power, once the arc of the swing reaches the proximity of the core. However, using the hands/arms first does not mobilize the core of the body before the fact effectively, for it is the core itself that should be used to mobilize the hands, arms, and legs. After all, we are talking about Tai Chi for health and martial purposes and not baseball.

Hand and arm movements in and of themselves are abstract; when not connected to the core of the body, they lack strength and cannot move in a relaxed manner. Excessive hand and arm movements in Tai Chi make hand and arm movements merely extraneous.

By using the hand first and thus allowing the arms to move independently of the core, you compromise the movement and diffuse the neuromuscular signals for the body's core even to respond.

Using the hand first, you place the junction for the delineation of yin and yang (what is moving/ what is not moving) somewhere in the area of the elbows or shoulder.

Using the hand first creates a disconnect right where the shoulder meets the core.

Using the hand first you are short-circuiting and disrupting the flow of "qi," placing the disruption somewhere in the hand/elbow/shoulder…there is no circuit completion of qi flow through the core to the arm…It only begins in the core when the hand leads the arm, which engages and stretches the shoulder, which is connected to the core. In other words, it stops and then begins at the shoulder. Qi is also going where yi goes. After a move from the core, however, the qi should flow to the arms and hands, the majority of internal energy should continue to circulate in the torso until needed.

Using the hands first in Tai Chi almost sounds like the same way typists, and piano players use their hands. As we said, this disrupts the flow of qi between the body and fingers. Using the core first ensures that the localized nerve activity of the hands/arms remains dormant and lets the qi from the body take over. This is a good reason to learn the square form of Tai Chi so that a practitioner can get used to movements with steady arms and hands without localized nerve impulses.

Wu Chien Chuan himself told Yeung Wabu: "Every movement in Tai Chi Form has to have two complementary parts of the body, a moving (yang) part and a stationary part (yin). When the Yin-Yang junction is located in the torso of the body, it is an internal move. When it is outside the torso, it is an external move. This is the key to a methodology that enables Tai Chi practitioners to mobilize the body's core for Tai Chi movements to generate internal energy and internal energy circulation. I have done Tai Chi from both sides of the coin, hand first, waist first, and the latter is the most powerful. Try doing this yourself using the waist first and keeping the hand still, and you will see the difference in generation of power.